If you’re looking for a way to maximize your landscaping investment, planting perennials certainly fit the bill. Unlike annuals that last one year, perennials are a mainstay. They bloom and die back during the growing season—but you can depend on them to return.
Because perennials can thrive long-term in the landscape, sprouting and blooming every year, they’re a budget-wise selection for commercial property owners who want to add color and boost curb appeal without the expense of annuals.
That said, annuals do have advantages, and we love the vibrant color and fresh energy they bring to a commercial property. Varieties like impatiens are great bed-fillers—and marigolds are synonymous with fall, introducing relevant autumn color as the cooler weather sets in. Annuals add a color boost at entrances and in containers. But the same goals be accomplished with perennials.
We recommend perennials for foundation plantings because they will deliver these five benefits to your Westchester, NY property.
#1 Perennials Add Long-Term Color to Your Property
Perennials bloom year after year, providing stable, consistent color for your commercial property landscape. This allows you to create a landscape design in phases, adding new perennials to your property as your budget allows.
#2 Native Perennials Can Attract Butterflies
Native perennials that are adapted to the environment require less maintenance because they thrive in Westchester, NY’s soil conditions and climate. Not to mention, wildlife-friendly perennials attract butterflies and pollinators. For example, England Aster produces purple flowers and is an important nectar plant for monarch butterflies, which fuel up on this perennial before migration. Swamp milkweed, with its showy pink flowers, also lures in butterflies.
#3 Perennials Require Less Landscape Maintenance
Once established, perennials require less care because their root systems are developed, well-anchored and provide necessary nutrients for the plants to thrive. This can result in reduced irrigation and fertilization needs. Because perennials are permanently “planted,” you save the labor and cost of removing spent annuals and installing fresh color every year. Also, perennial plants in flower beds can mitigate weeds because their root systems help crowd out unwanted vegetation.
#4 Perennials Improve Soil and Reduce Erosion
The benefits perennials provide to your commercial property run deeper than the color, texture, and interest you see in landscape beds. Below the soil line, perennial roots stabilize soil and prevent erosion, which is especially helpful along banks and on slopes. Also, after perennials bloom and go, many varieties retain foliage, which also protects soil and prevents erosion.
#5 Split Perennials and Spread More Color
Mature perennials can be split and replanted. Not only does this prevent a landscape bed from looking overgrown, but it’s also a sustainable way to make the most of the plants already growing on your commercial property.
Perennials are split based on their spreading behavior. Perennials that spread using stolons (roots that crawl along the surface) can be broken apart and replanted. Those that spread via rhizomes, which grow off the base of the plant, can be dug up and broken apart, then replanted. New bulbs that grow from existing ones can be snapped off and replanted. Native grasses can be dug up and chopped into smaller plants. Splitting perennials literally multiply your inventory of plants, and it helps maintain neat landscape beds.
Plant Perennials to Maximize Your Landscaping Investment
Blooming perennial plants, textured grasses, and flowering groundcovers add beauty and interest to your commercial property—and you won’t have to replant them every year. Perennials are a wise investment for commercial property owners who want curb appeal that lasts.
Let’s talk about landscape planting services for your Westchester, NY property. Fill out the Neave Landscaping contact form, or call our Westchester, NY office at 914-271-7996!